Brighton 2017/18 Premier League season preview: Will shrewd summer business be enough to keep Seagulls up?

Chris Hughton faces a familiar question, as a manager who gets teams promoted but now needs to keep one up

Anthony Knockaert will be key to Albion's survival hopes (Getty)

What’s changed?

Brighton are in the Premier League – for the first time ever!

Albion’s upward trajectory under Tony Bloom has been notable and after missing out narrowly in 2015/16, they blew away their rivals for automatic promotion last season.

The club were never going to spend big this summer. Bloom believes in his club’s extensive scouting network and will continue to look for low-cost, high-upside players to strengthen an already strong core.

Brighton will likely be underestimated and a little patronised this season, but they have a rich owner, new stadium and solid base. Nobody who knows the club well would be surprised if they ‘did a Swansea’ and made themselves into a mid-table side.

Who’s in?

The one to watch is Pascal Gross, a technically-adept set-piece wizard picked up for a bag of magic beans and a Mars bar wrapper. Markus Suttner, his team-mate at Ingolstadt, has also joined.

Gross will join the brilliant Anthony Knockaert in an attacking role, providing creativity behind the forwards. Izzy Brown should help there too, though after missing out on Tammy Abraham, Albion could still do with someone else at number 9.

Mat Ryan is a talented keeper who had a bad time of things at Valencia – a complete mess of a club. His shot-stopping abilities will come in handy this year.


 Ryan adds some experience between the sticks 
 (Getty)

Davy Propper from PSV at £10m could be the shrewdest addition of all.

There will be more arrivals, and if it’s the right player then Brighton won’t be shy to splash the cash despite their modest spending thus far.

Who’s out?

The only departures were fairly inconsequential freebies.

David Stockdale has joined Birmingham; Vegard Forren continues to be brilliant in Scandinavia but never makes it work in England and has gone back to Molde; Chris O’Grady is now at Chesterfield and Oliver Norwood will spend the season on loan at Fulham.


 Stockdale has stayed in the Championship with Birmingham 
 (Getty)

How are they going to line up?

Their current best XI would look something like:

4-2-3-1: Ryan; Bruno, Dunk, Duffy, Suttner; March, Stephens, Kayal, Knockaert; Gross; Murray.

What’s the one big question that must be answered?

Are the Championship holdovers good enough?

Brighton will start the season with many of the players that helped them to promotion, hoping that their understanding and abilities are sufficient to keep Albion in the top flight. Chris Hughton faces a similar question, as a guy who gets teams promoted but now needs to keep one up.


 Hughton must prove he can cut it at the highest level 
 (2015 Getty Images)

What’s the best that could happen?

Survival! Folk at Brighton are even more ambitious than that but, living in the real world, securing Premier League status is the best they can hope for as it gives them the ultimate building block to progress as a club. From that, stadium expansion and a continued upgrade of the squad would be the next step. It isn’t out of the question at all.

What’s the worst that could happen?

Relegation and the sale of Anthony Knockaert. Knocky wouldn’t go cheaply but returning to the Championship without their difference-maker would be a huge blow.